Opposition to civil rights measures, Great Society reforms, and protest groups—along with frustrations over the war in Vietnam (see “How did the war in Vietnam polarize the nation?” in chapter 29)—delivered the White House to Republican Richard M. Nixon in 1968. Nixon attacked the Great Society for “pouring billions of dollars into programs that have failed” and promised to represent the “forgotten Americans, the non-shouters, the non-demonstrators.” Yet his administration either promoted or accepted important elements of the liberal reform agenda, including greater federal assistance to the poor, new protections for women and minorities, and environmental reforms.